Renowned mixed martial arts manager Ali Abdelaziz has his sights on Asia and he knows exactly where to go here.
The founder of Dominance MMA – the number one sports agency in the US – will now work with ONE Championship moving forward and he plans to roll in some of his best guys in The Home Of Martial Arts.
“I just want to express my excitement with working with ONE, I represent around 300 fighters, some of the biggest fighters in the world which we can work with,” Abdelaziz said.
“I think I have a lot of guys right now, some up and coming fighters, world champions, big names and one day some of them can become free agents and join ONE. I am excited to work [ONE].”
The 42-year-old praised how ONE always puts on a show night in and night out, even describing it as a ‘spectacle’. He also had the chance to talk with some of the athletes he knows which validated his thoughts about the largest martial arts organization in the world.
“One of the meccas of MMA is in Asia, and ONE Championship is a world class brand. I’m excited with how they run the show,” he said.
“It’s like a spectacle, it’s like watching the Olympic games, it has a different feel to it. I have [talked to] fighters like Eddie Alvarez, with how he’s been treated with ONE and I can’t wait to work with them.”
Perhaps what everyone wants to know is how Abdelaziz’ relationship with ONE affects the possible trilogy between one of his athletes in Henry “Triple C” Cejudo and Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
The pair has engaged in two wars already, having won one match apiece over each other.
Cejudo has recently retired from the UFC, and he even teased a third match with Johnson in his Twitter account. Asked about it, Abdelaziz clarified that Cejudo still has a live contract with his former employer – though he is not closing any doors on anything right now.
“At the end of the day, MMA has grown so much, you see soccer players that get traded every year from team to team. ONE Championship is full of smart people. The UFC is full of smart people and I have amazing relationships with both promotions. If this is real talk (from Cejudo), I have to talk to both parties cause I would love to see that match between them,” Abdelaziz said
“Right now Henry Cejudo is still a UFC fighter, but if two people want to do something, we can do it but we have to get everything to agree.”
But Abdelaziz said that the focus should not just solely be on Cejudo as he has other big names in his stable which he feels can make a huge dent in mixed martial arts here in Asia.
Take the brother of Khabib Nurmagomedov for example, Usman. The undefeated 20-year-old has been linked to ONE Championship and Abdelaziz believes this is the best organization for the younger Nurmagomedov to strut his wares.
Another name he threw out is Iranian wrestling machine Amir Aliakbari who has demolished everyone in his path since transitioning to mixed martial arts.
“I have a lot of athletes coming up and possibly joining them, like Khabib’s younger brother, Usman, Amir Aliakbari, so many upcoming guys, they can be huge signings for ONE,” Abdelaziz shared.
“Usman is 20 years old, he’s undefeated 9-0, he’s one of my biggest prospects in MMA, to be honest we talked about it with Khabib and we thought, maybe he can join ONE Championship,” he added.
“In the next few days, we’re gonna look at some athletes, and me and Chatri have been talking and maybe we’re gonna break something in a few days.”
While nothing is finalized yet, having a kingmaker like Abdelaziz join forces with The Home Of Martial Arts is already a good thing, and he only promises one thing to fans in Asia.
“I have a garage full of Ferraris and Lamborghinis and I’m looking forward to put on a very very good car show in Asia.”
